My True Love Gave To Me
by JX Valentine
Summary: Pokeshipping, Ikarishipping, Contestshipping, and others! A series of eight holiday ficlets in which eight characters attempt to confess their love. The problem is getting the objects of their devotion to pay attention. Now complete.
1. Day One: Misty

**Author's Note:** Happy holidays for all you kids out there. After having noticed that there's quite a number of Christmas fics out there, I decided to try tackling one of the not-often-touched holidays in this season. You know. The one with eight days and dreidels. Unfortunately, that was last week, but close enough, right?

No offense intended towards any of my Jewish brothers and sisters out there. You're all cool.

In any case, keep watching this space. There will be eight ficlets in all, one for each of the most popular 'ships in this fandom. Spread the love, right?

* * *

Day One: Ash x Misty

Outside the pokémon center, snow fell so heavily Ash could barely see much further than the edge of the street, save for the soft lights of the buildings across the way. He leaned back in the chair, staring out at the winter wonderland in thought. Part of him was feeling some sort of sadness – a vague feeling he couldn't quite define. He was missing something, but he couldn't say off the top of his head what.

Turning his head, he caught glimpses of his traveling partners. Dawn was trading tips with other trainers and showing off Piplup. Brock, meanwhile, was where Ash left him, with both hands on one of Nurse Joy's and a sonnet on his lips. Croagunk, apparently, decided to leave him alone because the Joy kept looking over her shoulder in disinterest.

He was about to get up and walk towards one of them when, across the booth, someone else slid onto the other plastic bench. Someone he didn't really expect. Snapping his head towards her, he stared at his old friend with wide eyes.

"Misty!" he cried.

Smiling, the red-head flipped back the hood of her pink snow jacket. Her face was just as beautiful as Ash remembered, except with the reddish-pink tinge of a blush on her pale cheeks (He guessed it was from the cold, although with their relationship, who could tell?), her beauty took on an added glow. As she slipped her hands out of her blue gloves, her turquoise eyes sparkled and fixed only on him.

"Hi, Ash," she said softly.

Raising his eyebrows, Ash leaned forward. "What're you doing here, Mist? Aren't you supposed to be in Cerulean City?"

She shrugged. "There's water pokémon here I want to get for the gym. Crasher Wake told me all about the buizel in Sinnoh, and I just had to get one. Oh, that reminds me!"

Slipping her bag – the familiar spheal-shaped bag – from her shoulder, she plunged one hand into its depths and pulled out a box wrapped in blue wrapping paper. She placed it on the table and slid it towards Ash.

"Happy holidays," she whispered.

He gave her a confused look, but he wasn't one to turn down a gift. Taking it, he tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box underneath.

With a gasp, he exclaimed, "Misty! How did you…? Wow!"

Cautiously, as if the thing would disintegrate if he moved it the wrong way, he pulled the ultra ball from the depths of the box. Its black and yellow top hemisphere was polished to the point where he could see himself in it, and its pale bottom half looked like pure silver. Lifting it to the light, he examined it carefully as it reflected light off its smooth shell.

"Oh wow," he breathed. "Misty, you really shouldn't've. I didn't get you anything…"

Shaking her head, she smiled broadly at him. She loved it when he acted that innocent.

"Today's all about giving, Ash," she told him. "Besides, there's something very simple that you could give me without having to run off to a store."

Ash tore his eyes away from the ball to stare at her. He blinked his dark eyes and frowned a little.

"Really?" he asked. "What's that?"

She leaned across the table, her blush reddening a little. "Oh, I think you know. It's something I think we've both wanted all this time."

"Oh yeah!"

Reaching into his pocket, Ash pulled out a battered wallet. Thumbing through its folds, he pulled out a piece of paper and passed it across the table.

"I found this when I was in Eterna City," he said. "Look! It lets you get a brand-new bike for half off!"

Misty sat back with a fwump and stared at the coupon on the table. Then, with a huff, she stood.

"Happy Hanukkah to you too, Ash," she snapped as she walked away.

In response, Ash blinked. Then, he shrugged and grabbed the ultra ball. Twirling it between his fingers, he went back to staring forlornly out the window. It was then when he finally realized what he was missing: the ability to go outside and get back to training. Sure, there was something important that just happened here, but suddenly, all he could think about was training again.

A few hours later, what Misty meant before she stormed off eventually dawned on him. Unfortunately (or fortunately, in his opinion), he was never that quick on the uptake.


	2. Day Two: Dawn

**Author's Note: **Okay, kids. I'm going to need OCs for a couple of upcoming chapters. So, what I need from you is a character profile using the following:

**Name:  
****Gender:****  
Age:  
Appearance:** (What they're wearing, hair/eye color, et cetera.)**  
Personality:  
Occupation/Ambition:** (Trainer? Coordinator? How many badges and what goals?)**  
Short Background:** (Whatever they're doing up until this particular Christmas. One of them should know Mewtwo, so feel free to describe how they met it, even if the character isn't used for the Mewtwo story.)**  
Pokémon Team:  
Special Abilities:** (Of the character, not the Pokémon they own. Feel free to list whatever you'd like.)**  
Character To Pair With:** (Read the other OC submission forms. If one of them tickles your fancy, put down their name as your preferred partner. First app to submit leaves this blank and will probably be paired with anyone. Leave blank if you don't care or answer Mewtwo if you want to be in the Mewtwo story.)**  
Anything Else?:** (Is there anything else you'd like me to know?)

Although only three OCs will be used in the story, feel free to keep submitting characters, even if I've already got three forms. It's the best ones that will be used, not the first three I get.

With that said, on with the story!

* * *

Day Two: Paul x Dawn

On chance, Dawn, who was sitting in a corner of the pokémon center, looked over her shoulder as she was telling another coordinator all about the benefits of brushing a pokémon a certain way when she caught sight of a red-headed girl sliding into the booth where Ash sat. Frowning, she stopped short, causing the other trainer to look at her strangely.

"Uh, miss?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Excuse me."

With that, she stood and hurried away. Tears formed in her eyes as she held Piplup tightly to her chest until it began squealing. She didn't seem to notice. The only thing going through her mind was the way the other girl looked – absolutely beautiful, with a radiant glow to her face. Those blue-green eyes even sparkled – _sparkled_ – when they settled on Ash. She knew right away what that girl was thinking and who that girl must have been. Ash only talked about one person, and he did it with a certain tone of voice that Dawn found sweet.

That was her problem, though. Brock was paired up with just about every girl they met. Ash had that girl, his old friend Misty, who he kept going on and on about when he wasn't talking about training or helping someone or getting to the next gym. And her? Dawn had no one. No one to hold her. No one to talk to her sweetly and kiss her and caress her face. She was completely alone in the romantic department, and for a winter holiday, that was perfectly unacceptable.

Luckily, she passed the answer to her prayers about halfway to the door to the trainers' dorms. In a corner booth, a familiar, purple-haired trainer sat with his arms crossed and his eyes on the golden menorah on the window sill. Three of its candles were lit, and the light danced across his face to highlight a crescent of his tanned skin for Dawn to see. Instantly, she stopped and stared. She knew who it was, and for whatever reason, she was drawn to the table.

"Paul!" she exclaimed.

He turned his head. His black eyes fixed on her with his usual cold, stoic look. Suddenly, she felt some warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Her grip on Piplup loosened, much to the penguin's relief, and right then, her tears stopped trickling down her cheeks.

"Paul, I…"

"What is it?" he asked her curtly.

She frowned. "Well, you don't have to snap at me!"

"Look, if you have nothing to say, then leave me alone," he replied.

Huffing, she stared at him for awhile but didn't leave. On the one hand, she hated him. She hated his attitude and the way he treated Ash and all his pokémon. She hated how quick he was to brush people off. She hated everything about him.

Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel like she wanted to stand there. Maybe she was a masochist or maybe, deep down, she felt like Paul was a good person – the kind of person who _would_ touch her gently and protect her at all costs, if only she would make the first move…

"I like you."

Paul quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"I like you," Dawn repeated. "I like you! I don't know why, but I do!"

"Uh."

"And I know what you're going to say," she snapped. "Oh, I'm so weak. Oh, I'm just one of Ash's stupid friends. Well, you know what? I don't care! I still like you! You're rude, but deep down, all you want is one thing!"

"And what's that?"

"This!"

Without warning, Dawn dropped Piplup to the ground. The penguin cried in protest just before he hit the floor with a thump. Immediately, he jumped to his feet, pointed at his trainer, and shouted frantically, but unfortunately, Dawn was a bit too busy to care. Instead, she leaned down and placed both of her hands on Paul's shoulders. Before he could do anything in response, she closed her eyes and planted her lips on his.

It was possibly the warmest thing Dawn had ever felt. She melted inside again. She just couldn't help it. Her lips tingled, and she fell deeply into his kiss. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and slid into his lap, leaning against him to feel his body heat. He remained upright, and for that, she was grateful. She felt that stability and let her heart beat faster at the taste of his strength.

Finally, she broke away. Sighing, she opened her eyes halfway and rested her head against his chest. A small smile crossed her lips. It was far better than she'd expected, and a blush colored her cheeks as she found herself trying to sort through conflicted thoughts. It started out as something she did to make herself feel better, but now… now, she wasn't starting to actually _feel_ something for Paul, was she?

Paul lifted a hand to rub his lips with a palm. Exhaling, he stared at the girl in his lap with the same stoic expression he always had.

"I just have two questions for you," he said from behind his hand.

With a smile, Dawn looked up at his face. "What's that?"

"Who are you, and do you usually kiss complete strangers who don't care about you?"


	3. Day Three: Drew

**Author's Note:** Still looking for OCs. Check last chapter for details. OCs will probably be used in the next chapter if I have at least one more.

* * *

Day Three: Drew x May

It took May forever to find the right one.

Now, to be more specific, it's probably best to start off with where she was. At that particular moment, she stood in the middle of the Goldenrod City Department Store. People were bustling around her, and as she stood there, she was nearly propelled headfirst into the Right One (capitalized for emphasized importance). Apparently, even the people of Goldenrod City believed in last-minute shopping. Or maybe it was more for Christmas. May didn't really know or care.

Moreover, this wasn't the first place she tried. In fact, she spent the better part of the day looking for the Right One in store after store and down street after winding street. She'd gotten lost no less than seven times in the course of her search (as a result of no fault of her own but more because the city architects were certifiably deranged), but here she was, finally staring at the exact object she knew Drew would love.

Plucking it from the shelf, she pushed through crowds of people in thick jackets. She dodged new shelves that seemed to crop up whenever she thought she'd nearly pushed through a particularly thick throng, and she shimmied her slim body through tiny gaps between shoppers and carts. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she managed to find the line to the checkout counter. Another eternity passed before she could finally pay and skip out the door with the box in hand.

Winter holidays in Goldenrod City have always been particularly noteworthy for the amount of gusto the citizens put into celebrating them. From the Winter Solstice Festival featured at the very beginning of the season to the Spring Equinox Festival at the end, the city became flooded with appropriate decorations and lights each week. For the last two weeks of December, for example, every shop window and spare space in the city seemed to be crammed with a mishmash of dreidel cut-outs, tinsel, and models of Baby New Year. One could say that the citizens of Goldenrod City simply loved holidays and celebrations. More cynical Johtonians insisted it was just an excuse to be gaudy and get drunk. The latter was usually the actual case.

However, as May pushed herself into the cold December air and made her way through crowds back to the pokémon center, she really didn't think too much about Goldenrod's traditions or annual vibes. She had her mind's eye on only one prize that day, and he promised to wait for her at the pokémon center.

Journeying there, however, was an entirely different ordeal. Although the center and the Goldenrod City Department Store weren't that far from each other, she still managed to find herself wandering down empty alleys and hitting dead ends three times before she finally reached the glass doors of the building. She was definitely thankful for the warmth. After all, it took her roughly an hour to actually find the place.

Inhaling deeply, she looked around. Straight ahead was the desk where Nurse Joy – now in a Santa hat instead of her usual nurse's hat (despite it being over a week before Christmas) – quietly worked at a computer. To the left was a row of green videophones, all occupied by trainers calling people who looked just like them, only far, far older. And to the right…

"May!"

She turned her head to see a row of booths with green, plastic seats and white, plastic tables. Some of them were already occupied by trainers chatting happily with one another, but only one caught her interest. There, a green-haired boy sat and smiled at her.

"Drew!" she replied.

Trotting over to him, she returned his smile before slipping into the booth across from him. The plastic bag she held rustled to remind her it was there. However, she placed it next to her. There were far more important things to think about.

Before she could say anything, she turned back to Drew and came face-to-face with the blossom of a bright, red rose. Her blue eyes widened as she stared at it.

"For you," Drew explained. "It matches how you looked in your last contest."

With a smile, she accepted the rose and blushed. "Drew, it's beautiful! Oh, wait! I've got something for you too!"

Placing the rose gently in her lap, she reached for the box in the bag. After she pulled it out, she placed it on the table and slid it towards him. Outside, it was just an ordinary, white box. Drew carefully picked it up and stared at it for a beat.

"Go on!" May said. "Open it!"

He looked up and raised his eyebrows. Then, just as carefully, he slid his thumb under the top flap and flicked it open. Inside was an object he wasn't entirely expecting. With a blink, he pulled the wooden figurine out and placed it on the table. It was a lovely piece of woodwork. He had to admit that.

It was just that it was in the shape of a wobbuffet.

"Uh… it's… it's very nice, May," Drew said. "What is it?"

May smiled. "It's a wobbuffet, of course! I got it because it reminds me of you! You know. The kind of friend who helps me bounce back whenever I lose a contest or whenever something goes wrong!"

At the word "friend," Drew paled a little. "Thanks."

Tilting her head, May let her grin widen. "Don't mention it! Happy Hanukkah, Drew! I hope we'll see each other in the next contest!"

With that, she rose to her feet, winked, and jogged away happily to leave Drew behind.


	4. Day Four: James

**Author's Note:** As usual, see chapter two's notes for the OC form. Thanks for the responses so far, guys!

* * *

Day Four: Jessie x James

That evening, James decided Jessie was the most beautiful she's ever been. Granted, she was beautiful every day (either because she _was_ or because she threatened his life until he believed it), but that day was special. That day, she was getting ready for a winter-themed contest in the middle of town, and in the dressing room, she was standing at the perfect spot.

Her sparkling, blue eyes stared through the eyeholes of her glittery butterfly mask at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She pursed her luscious, red lips and leaned forward to make sure her makeup was perfect. (Of course it was. _Jessie_ said it was, so it had to be.) Her hands, wrapped in white silk gloves, smoothed the front of her sleeveless, orange, sequined gown. She was still Jessalina here, and for that, her hair was in a pair of large, goofy pigtails. It was just that she wanted a little glitz and glamour this time around on top of her usual Jessalina disguise.

James, of course, had a few disagreements with Jessie's idea of glitz and glamour, but at that particular moment, he couldn't voice them. It wasn't because he knew he would be thrown into a wall if he did. This time, it was because the light caught the sequins and the shine of her hair just right, and she looked far from gaudy and beyond just cute. She was _gorgeous_.

Smiling, James stalked forward from the doorway and quietly wrapped his arms around Jessie's shoulders. She stopped and blinked into her mirror. Her hands lingered on her hips as James rested his chin on Jessie's shoulder.

"James," she started.

"I just want to say good luck," he said. "You look great."

She blinked her blue eyes. "Of course I do."

He leaned into her. "And Jessie?"

"Yes, James?"

"Look up."

She complied, tilting her head back to look at the ceiling. Apparently, someone decided to be funny and hang a sprig of fresh, green mistletoe directly above the worn spot in front of the mirrors. Even if it was a week early and not even related to the holiday the cast routinely shafted, there it was, the universal symbol for holiday romancing.

Jessie found herself turned around with more force than she thought was possible from her partner. Both of his hands were placed on her shoulders, and she could feel their strong grip holding her almost painfully. However, what scared her the most was the look in James's eyes. They were those same, sparkling emeralds he always had, but somehow, they took on an intense, determined fire. Jessie raised her eyebrows as she stared back.

"James?" she asked.

"Jessie, I want you to know I would do anything for you," James told her. "I love you, and I want to be with you forever."

She blinked. "You would do anything for me?"

"Anything!"

"Anything?"

"Anything."

With that, he leaned in and closed his eyes. He imagined that at any second, he would come in contact with Jessie's lips in the warmest, most passionate kiss he would ever feel.

A few seconds later, Meowth approached the dressing room with a pair of freshly polished shoes for Jessie in his paws. However, just before he turned to enter the room, James flew over him and into the wall across the width of the hallway. He slammed into the plaster face-first and hung there in the same way a brick did… which is to say, he dropped immediately with a bang onto the linoleum floor. Seconds later, a prop camera flew after him, smacked into the wall, and fell heavily onto his back. As Meowth turned to stare at James, Jessie calmly appeared in the doorway, bent down, and snatched her shoes from the cat.

"Then, make yourself useful and go bribe some of the judges!" she snapped.

Without even waiting for him to reply, Jessie went back into the dressing room and slammed the door behind her.


	5. Day Five: May?

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all the OC submissions! The first OC chapter should come either tomorrow or the day after, and I'll do my best to stick to your characters!

* * *

Day Five: Ash x May

Ash sat alone by the school cafeteria's windows. It was a rarity. He was, after all, the most popular kid in Pallet Town High School, but here, he sat alone as he stared at the menorah in the window. He briefly wondered who actually put it there. It wasn't like anyone in the school was actually Jewish.

Due to his focus on the window, he didn't notice a familiar girl walk towards him, and he didn't see her stop in the middle of the cafeteria. She lingered there for a moment to stare at him until she finally had to turn and walk to another empty table on the other side of the room.

"Oh Ash," May whispered as she placed a hand over her heart.

She sat down with a heavy plop. Part of her wanted to break down into tears. She was, after all, just a skater girl. She wasn't cute like that preppy cheerleader Dawn who for some reason (possibly sympathy) hung out with her. She wasn't even beautiful like Misty, Ash's next door neighbor who happened to hang around him most of the time. In fact, she wondered if he even noticed her half the time. It seemed that lately, he was looking at Dawn's girlish figure and Misty's rear a lot more than anything that might happen to be around them, and even then, he often pretended he didn't care about all of that. He was the epitome of cool in that school. The bane of every teacher they had. The stoic badass.

No matter what she did, she just couldn't say hello. He was right there, and she couldn't say a word. In English, when she found herself spacing out thanks to disinterest, she found herself staring at the back of his head, but she couldn't pass him a note to tell him she liked him. In chemistry, when he worked at the table behind her (attempting, of course, to set things on fire using the Bunsen burner), she could only turn around and ask to borrow one instrument or another. And there he was right then, alone at a lunch table, and she couldn't do a thing.

Taking several shaky breaths, she crossed her arms and buried her face in them. Over and over again, the same questions echoed through her head.

_Do I matter to him? Did I ever matter to him?_

In response, she clenched her teeth hard. She was shaking, and her vision was blurring with tears.

_What should I say to him?_ she thought. _I can't approach him!_

"May?"

She looked up at the sound of the girl's voice. There, she saw Dawn staring at her with wide eyes and a broad smile on her face.

"Oh! Hi, Dawn," she said as she did her best to force herself to smile.

"What are you doing all the way over here?" Dawn asked. "Come on! Ash is alone, girl! We're eating over there!"

Before May could protest, Dawn grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. She cried out, but the blue-haired girl simply dragged her back across the room to the window with the menorah. Ash was still sitting there, staring at the window.

"Ash!" Dawn called. "Ash, look! Look who I found!"

The boy looked up to see Dawn approach with May stumbling behind her. As soon as Dawn skidded to a halt, May stood awkwardly next to her younger companion. Her blue eyes rose to the ceiling as her hands clasped behind her head.

"Hi, Ash," she said sheepishly.

"May!"

At once, Ash jumped to his feet. With a smile, he stepped forward to approach her.

"May, I was just thinking about you!" he said.

She blushed. "You… you were?"

"Yeah," Ash replied. "I was wondering where you were. Were you avoiding me?"

Quickly, May shook her head. "No! Why would I—" Then, she paused. "Yes."

Raising his eyebrows, Ash looked at Dawn. "Hey, thanks. Uh, if you don't mind…"

Dawn raised a hand and waggled her fingers. "Don't mention it."

With a wink and a smile, she walked towards a table where Brock and Misty were already seated. When she was out of earshot, Ash turned back to May and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

May looked down and sighed. "Sort of. It's just… I've been waiting forever to tell you something, Ash, and I didn't know how to say it. I just didn't think you'd pay attention."

"Why wouldn't I pay attention?"

She glared at him. "Because I saw you kissing a certain Santa Misty underneath the mistletoe last night."

"Oh." Ash rocked back on his heels and smiled at the ceiling. "That."

May narrowed her eyes. "I think we should start seeing other people. Happy Hanukkah."


	6. Day Six: OC the First

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the delay between chapters. I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out how to tackle the first batch of OCs. Sorry if it's not quite right, but I hope you still enjoy it!

Credit goes to xoxomelodyrosexoxo for the characters Lucy Rose and Josh Campbell. Thanks!

* * *

Day Six: OC the First

Josh Campbell had seen better days. Specifically, most days, he didn't randomly black out in the middle of Cerulean City's business district. Or if he did, he could usually figure out what caused it (typically one of his own pokémon getting a little excited with a new contest combination), and he certainly wouldn't wake up in a cave.

Not that he didn't outright hate being there. It was beautiful, actually. Huge crystals grew out of the rocky ground all around him, placing him in the center of a large, circular clearing. Some seemed to emit a soft, blue light that dimly illuminated the small chamber. Azure patches spread across the circle of bare earth and highlighted the form of the only other person in the room.

Jolting, Josh moved to the girl's side and carefully turned her over. His hands brushed her long, black hair away from her face, and immediately, he knew who she was.

"Lucy?" he whispered.

Slowly, her gray eyes fluttered open and fixed on Josh's face. Then, she screamed and swung her hand up. The sound of the resulting smack across his cheek reverberated off the cavern walls. Josh fell to the side at its force.

"What's the big idea?!" he demanded.

Lucy sat up. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I thought you were a per—oh."

"Oh?" Josh rubbed his reddening cheek and glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She blinked. "Nothing. I just didn't expect to see you here. Did you black out too?"

Josh smirked and stood up. "What do you think? Of course I didn't! I'm just here to train, and I just happened to find you lying around in here! Lucky I did because who knows what would've happened if no one found you? You oughta be more careful! You shouldn't be wandering around caves you don't know too well."

"Weird. The last thing I remember was crossing into Cerulean City…" Lucy brought a hand to her mouth. "Well, no need to worry about that now! Since you came in here by yourself, you must know how to get back out, right?"

Suddenly, Josh stiffened. He looked to the side as he fidgeted. "Er, well, you see…"

_He's lying to you._

Josh whirled around, trying to find the source of the voice. Lucy looked up as well, equally confused. It seemed to come from all directions at once, but with the acoustics in that chamber, it wasn't an effect that was all that difficult to pull off.

"Hey!" Josh called. "I don't lie, and I definitely wasn't lying to Lucy just now!"

_Yes, you were. I know because I brought you here._

Josh's eyes widened. One of his hands reached for a poké ball, but he paused when he felt nothing there.

"My pokémon," he whispered. "They're gone!"

Furrowing her eyebrows, Lucy reached for her own but, likewise, found nothing there. "Hey! Mine too!" She jumped to her feet. "What's the big idea?! You're not a thief, are you?!"

_Of course not,_ the voice said. _You will get your pokémon back soon. I simply wanted to ask a question._

Lucy hesitated. She could sense something behind the forest of crystals directly in front of her. A gray blur appeared beyond them, and something purple swayed behind it. Around it, a blue light flared, filtering through the crystals to add to their azure glow. Whatever it was, it felt warm and friendly – curious more than actually malicious. She slowly relaxed.

"Why didn't you ask us in the city?" she asked.

_I cannot go there,_ it replied. _Too many people._

Josh gritted his teeth. "Look, just give me back my pokémon, take me back to Cerulean, and get your answer from someone else!"

Lucy glared at him. "Josh!"

Immediately, he jumped at her tone and turned to face her. He fell silent, allowing the involuntary cringe to do all the talking. If there was just one thing he had to admit, it was that he didn't entirely like it when his rival looked at him like that.

Luckily, the expression dissolved into a smile as she turned back to the creature.

"Well, we can try to answer it," she said. "What would you like to know?"

_Many people have told me about Christmas,_ it said. _I know and understand what it means. Also, I understand your holiday of New Year's. However, I do not fully know this holiday you call… Hanukkah. What is it?_

Lucy blinked. She, of course, worshipped Mew and the other legendary pokémon, so her winter holiday was just a festival dedicated to Articuno. Glancing at Josh, she shrugged in a silent question. He only shrugged in response. Josh, after all, was a Christian, so he celebrated Christmas. Between the two of them, they had nothing.

"Well, uh… we don't actually know," Lucy admitted at long last. "I just know that they call it the Festival of Lights, and there's that spinny little top involved. And oh! Eight days of presents!"

"There's more to it than _that_," Josh said.

Lucy turned to him. "Really? Like what?"

Josh shifted on his feet. "Well, for one, it's all about giving, right? All of them are – the holidays in December, I mean. It's a whole month of giving. You give to the people you care about because it's supposed to be a time of peace and happiness. You give because it makes other people happy, and they give to you as a sign that you mean something to them."

The creature's blue aura brightened a little. _I see. Is that all?_

"Well, no," Josh replied. "There's a whole lot of other things to it, too. Like… Well, okay, I don't actually know the story of Hanukkah, but it's called the Festival of Lights because of the menorah. They light candles on each day to represent… hope or something. Like, the light will never go out until the end of the eighth day because it's sustained by the hope of the people. It represents the fact that no matter what, if you just believe, you'll make it through the dark times."

That sounded vague and generic enough for Josh. A lot of what he said was just a bunch of themes that were usually applied to Christmas, but the winter holidays were really all the same for him.

"Really?" Lucy said. "I didn't know any of that!"

Josh leaned towards her and whispered, "I don't know. I'm ad-libbing. Look, Lucy, I want to say something, and I don't want that thing to know about it."

"What?"

"If we don't make it out of here alive, I'm sorry about giving you such a hard time."

At that, Lucy stared at him for awhile. Then, slowly, she grinned and blushed. "It's okay, Josh. And you're doing great."

Josh blushed. "I'm doing great?"

Lucy nodded. "Well, you sound convincing, anyway. Ad-libbing or not, I think it's buying it."

At that, Josh felt his shyness creep in as he gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

The male coordinator didn't know whether or not the creature heard him. All it did was flick its purple appendage back and forth for awhile in thought. Finally, it spoke again.

_And what about this… spinny top you mentioned? What does it represent during this holiday?_

Josh shrugged. "I don't know. What does a dead pine tree covered in metal balls represent during Christmas?"

At that response, the creature chuckled. _I see. You have quite an interesting mind, young one. From what I've heard, I think I understand the meaning of this holiday. To give… to hope… to love. You humans have such fascinating customs and beliefs._

Lucy happily smiled. "Thanks!"

Around the creature, the aura grew and brightened more than it had during the entire course of the conversation.

_Yes,_ the creature whispered. _That is all I wished to know. I will transport you back where you came from. And Josh…_

"What's that?"

_Do not lie to her. For any reason._

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Before Josh could get his answer, his entire field of vision was engulfed in bright, blue light. Then, for a second time that day, he blacked out.

---

When Josh awoke, he found himself sitting on a bench. His hand wandered to his belt to find that his pokémon were magically there. Next to him on one side sat a pile of boxes, all neatly wrapped and tagged. On the other side, he felt a warm weight. Turning his head, he found Lucy leaning against him, grinning in her sleep. Instantly, he blushed and blinked. Awhile later, he smiled.

The strange thing was, though, he couldn't remember how he got there. Not that he complained about it or anything.

Slowly, Lucy opened her eyes. When she realized she was lying on something, she tilted her head up to see Josh. Her eyes widened, and she pulled herself up.

"Josh?"

He snapped his gaze away from her. His eyes settled on the buildings around him, and immediately, he realized he was sitting on a bench in front of a row of colorful shops – the very same ones he was wandering past before he blacked out.

"I only let you fall asleep on me because it's cold out here," he snapped.

Lucy rubbed her eyes. "What're we doing out here?"

Josh shrugged. "I was just going shopping. I don't know what _you_ were doing."

Yawning, she stretched, and Josh couldn't help but look at her. She had a nice figure, framed in a black-and-red checkered jacket that somehow still highlighted the right assets and a pair of tight jeans and black boots that hugged her long legs. Josh ran his fingers through his dirty-blonde hair and looked at the gray sky with his deep, blue eyes.

"Sorry," Lucy said. "I've been traveling non-stop for days. Thanks for letting me use you as a pillow."

"Yeah, well…" Josh turned to the presents. "Just don't do it again. I've got better things to do with my time than wait for you to wake up."

Then, he noticed something. The present at the top of the pile next to him, the one wrapped in red and black checkered paper, had a label that addressed it to Lucy. The handwriting was his, but strangely, he couldn't remember ever actually getting her anything. With a blink, he picked it up.

"Something wrong?" Lucy asked.

He shook his head. "No."

Then, he plopped the package in her lap, gathered the others, and stood up.

"That one's for you," he told her.

Immediately, she turned her wide, shining eyes towards him. "Oh, you didn't have to! I didn't get you anything…"

He waved a hand in the air and turned. "Forget about it. That's not the point, is it?"

Suddenly, he paused. Something about that last sentence gave him a weird feeling of déjà vu. Shuddering, he closed his eyes and shook his head to dispel it.

"Uh, anyway, happy holidays."

Before Lucy could say a word, he jogged away. He imagined her smiling at him, and, unable to help himself, he grinned.


	7. Day Seven: The Chosen One

**Author's Note:** Blargh. Several days without a new chapter. Sorry about that, folks. I'm totally not running out of steam.

In any case, I'd like to thank Coty for Kathy Donovan and PokemonRules14 for Asuka. Yes, they're both getting used in this story. It's also a response to a prompt in the LJ community 50 Passages (the line being "You will be glad to have these safe again").

Furthermore, I apologize in advance if people's feathers get ruffled. It will all be explained in the last chapter. I promise.

* * *

Day Seven: The Chosen One x The Love Interest

"Bet you can't catch me."

After tossing her long, black hair over a blue-cotton-covered shoulder, Kathy Donovan put her hands on her jean-clad hips and narrowed her sapphire eyes. Her traveling companion stood in the doorway of the pokémon center. Sighing, Kathy turned away, looking from the broad smile on her partner's face to the corner of the room.

"Come on," she said. "Why would I want to catch you?"

"Well," her partner drawled, "for one thing, you'll be glad to have _these_ safe again."

Turning back towards her friend, she came face-to-face with her own badge case, a rectangular box made of slightly rusted tin. Her companion opened it and examined the badges inside – six in total, all recently polished.

"Hey, I wonder if I could make these into barrettes for my pokémon."

Kathy balled her hands into fists and crouched into a ready-to-run position. "You'd better not!"

With a shriek of laughter, her friend snapped it shut and tore out of the building. Kathy growled and looked over her shoulder, towards her lucario. The canine pokémon reached for an apple the nurse at the front desk was offering him just as he sensed his master's sudden burst of emotion. Blinking his red eyes, he looked back at her.

"Lucario, come on!" she called. "We've got a coordinator to catch!"

Barking, the dog turned back to the nurse and snatched the apple. He wasn't about to follow Kathy until, much to his surprise, a hand clamped around his arm.

"I said _come on_!" she snapped.

Startled, he stumbled after her as she dragged him out of the pokémon center.

There was an advantage to being from Snowpoint, as Kathy just realized, and that was the fact that it was always so peaceful and quiet. However, there was also a pretty big disadvantage, and _that_ was the fact that right around the winter holidays, when it snowed, it left a deep, white blanket over everything. Already, Kathy had lost sight of her companion, not because she lingered for a second too long in the pokémon center but instead because all around her were feet upon feet of snow. Snow that nearly matched the color of her companion's long, silver hair.

"Where did that kid go?" Kathy muttered. "Lucario, can you sense anything?"

Crunching into the apple, Lucario hung back. He only stared at her indifferently as he chewed. Furrowing her eyebrows, Kathy turned completely towards him.

"Lucario, you're supposed to help me find my love interest with your powers. You know. The whole glowy aura-sensing thing?"

The dog shrugged and tapped into his master's mind… because of their deep-seated, aura-based connection… or something. _You screwed up. I'm not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be the one to locate her using your Aura powers and save her from an avalanche or something._

Kathy's voice lowered to a low hush. "Don't screw this up. That comes later."

_No, that's really not how it goes. And I'm supposed to be left behind because I'd interfere with all the intimacies and declarations of love and whatever. Or was I supposed to just stand here to represent the obligatory lucario of the fanfiction?_

"Crap. Which script is this?"

Uncomfortable with how much time was passing since she'd moved off-screen, Kathy's silver-haired companion emerged from a nearby snowbank. Asuka shook the fake snow from her hair and blinked her golden eyes.

"What's the hold up?" she demanded.

Kathy turned. "Lucario's refusing to act!"

"What?!"

"For the last time, I said _CUT!_"

The nearby camera backed away, and a short, dark-haired girl in a director's chair uncrossed her legs and propped them both on the back of a young man with dirty-blonde hair. Suddenly, the trio was no longer in Snowpoint City. They were on a soundstage, and more importantly, they were in deep, deep crap.

"Look, it's really very simple," the director said. "You're Kathy, the second-most powerful Aura Guardian to hit Sinnoh this generation and the soon-to-be champion. You're deeply in same-sex love with your companion, Asuka, who is a talented and beautiful coordinator. That's _deeply_ in love, and that means a lot of angsting and worrying about how stupid your girlfriend is in this snowdrift. There is no avalanche. There's just Asuka being confronted by the evil Aura Guardian with a weavile and ending up in a hospital."

She thumbed off-stage to a red-haired man in a long, black robe. He held up the cup of coffee in a salute.

"Oh," Kathy said. "_That_ script."

"_How many scripts did I give you?!_" the director snapped as she massaged her temples.

Kathy shrugged. "I dunno. Personally, all these stories seem the same to me. Girl wanders around in the cold wilderness. Boy – or, well, _butch_ in this case, I guess – finds her and uses her powers to save her as just another step towards saving the world."

Asuka nodded. "Or maybe it's like one of those fun-in-the-snow kinds of stories where we end up being contemplative in some snow drift."

"Or maybe it's one of those stories," the director said, "where I get pissed off because you decide to ad-lib your lines because you didn't feel like studying your script, so we ended up with a story with no twist ending."

She pointed to the boy under her feet. Josh Campbell – or, rather, the actor who played him – glanced up at the girls with terrified eyes.

"For the love of all things good, don't question the script!" he hissed.

Ignoring him, Lucario raised a paw. "Uh, question. What's my part this time around?"

"Obligatory lucario cameo," the director replied. "Don't worry. We've got your shots, and we won't need you anymore. Why don't you take the rest of the day off, and we'll get in touch if we need another lucario?"

"Sweet." He saluted to the girls on stage as he started walking away. "Pleasure working with you girls. It's been real, and if you happen to see that hot glaceon around, tell her to call me. She knows the number."

Asuka blinked. "Wait. _ What?!_"

The director tented her fingers as she crossed her legs again. "Now then. Mind explaining to me why you felt the need to not study the script, Kathy?"

"What?" Kathy said. "I studied the script!"

She quirked an eyebrow. "At what point did it call for you to drag Lucario with you?"

Kathy shrugged. "I thought he'd like it if I tried to include him. I mean, he barely gets paid enough as it is. I know. He told me. Thirty-seven times."

The director sighed. "Don't you know that a good shipping story ignores pokémon in favor of focusing almost completely on character interaction _unless_ the main characters happened to be pokémon – which you two are not?"

"Um…" Kathy rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah?"

"And is it your job to do the casting, the directing, or the writing of the script?"

The actress shifted on her feet. "No?"

"Whose job is that, Kathy?"

"Yours?"

The director smiled. "Good girl. And who was being a thoroughly silly girl in this scene so far?"

"Er…"

Josh and Asuka looked at her in terror. "Just say you are!"

"But it doesn't make sense!"

And then, they all fell silent. The director's eyebrow remained quirked, the man in the robe dropped his coffee, and both Josh and Asuka stared at Kathy with white faces.

"I mean, come on!" Kathy said. "I could be _anyone_. You could replace me with Ash and Asuka with Dawn, and I can almost guarantee that this story's been done already. Heck, you could replace me with Paul and take out the part with the evil Aura Guardian, and I can name five stories with the same plot."

"Ah." The director pointed one finger towards the ceiling. "Then, it's _not_ like every story because it's not the same plot, is it? I mean, you're you, not Paul or anyone else."

"Oh, you keep pretending," Kathy said as she crossed her arms. "I've been watching the other scenes, and I've been seeing what you're doing. You've been reading every other romance script in this fandom and using bits and pieces to sew together something you claim to be your own. You had the generic school plot with May angsting about Ash. You had Dawn melt over how serious Paul was. You even tried to have James sweep Jessie off her feet. And this one… I've got no characterization, and you've thrown me into a story where the main point is to have me eventually get into some mushy situation where I use my powers to save my one true love. It's just a generic chosen one plot, only condensed into a few pages and centering around two girls, isn't it?"

"Well, it _would be_ if you'd just _act_," the director growled.

"I guess one of us is going to sacrifice herself to save the other and come back as her pokémon too, right?"

The director smacked the arm of her chair. "Oh, _blast!_ Reveal the twist ending to the bloody _world_, why don't you?!"

"We're in a studio! Who doesn't already know the plot to this?!"

Everyone in front of the director paused and stared straight back towards the fourth wall. Turning to look over her shoulder, the director spotted a janitor in a red jumpsuit with a mop in hand and his wide eyes at the commotion.

"Well, him for one." The director nodded towards him. "Hey, you! How'd you like to be in a short movie?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I guess."

"Great!" She turned back towards the scene. "Kathy, you're fired."

Kathy frowned. "You know, despite the loss of my dignity, my reputation as an actress, and quite possibly this week's pay, I'm okay with that. You know why? Because there's one thing that you wanted in this short that you won't get on film if you use him."

"An actor?"

"Well, yeah, that and this."

Abruptly, Kathy strode over to Asuka, grabbed the sides of her face, and kissed her. At first, Asuka widened her golden eyes in surprise. Then, after a few seconds, she closed them, wrapped her arms around her companion, and slipped herself into the longest and warmest kiss she had ever experienced. It seemed to go on forever until, finally, Kathy broke away, panting.

"Call me," she said with a wink. Then, before the director could say a word, she turned and began running. "_FOR ART!_"

Asuka dropped to the fake snowdrift in a daze as her partner, chased by two security guards, ran screaming and laughing out of the building.


	8. Day Eight: Misty and?

Day Eight: Misty and…?

In one of the dorms in the back of the pokémon center, Misty lay stretched on her bed. Her hands were behind her head, and her aquamarine eyes were fixed on the ceiling. Although they were red and puffy, she finished crying a long time ago. She was now completely in the stage where she was more inclined to hate absolutely everyone: herself, the boy who was far too oblivious to notice her affections, and most importantly, whoever tried to bother her in that state.

Luckily for her, the door burst open at that particular moment, and a blue-haired girl rushed in and threw herself on the empty bed across the room.

_Crap,_ Misty thought.

Turning her head, she glared daggers at the other girl. The newcomer didn't seem to notice, however, because she was far too busy bawling into the pillow of the other bed. Sighing, Misty rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"May I help you?" she asked.

The girl looked up and over her shoulder. Sniffling, she tried to rub tears away from her blue eyes.

"W-who are y-y-you?" she stuttered.

"I think that should be my line. You're in my room."

Looking up, the girl glanced at her surroundings and gasped. She scrambled to sit up as her hands frantically pulled her pink skirt over her thighs.

"Oh! I'm… I'm so sorry."

Raising her eyebrow, Misty took a good look at her. The problem, much to Misty's frustration, was that first off, the girl was a mess. Second, she was a girl. At that point, most of Misty's hatred was towards the male persuasion, and she had a sneaking suspicion she had a reason to sympathize for the newcomer. Because of that, her intense anger towards the entire world eased up just a little, and curiosity pushed her to have an ounce of courtesy.

"Never mind," Misty said. "Are you all right?"

The girl looked away. "Y-yeah. N-n-no n-need to worry. I'll… I'll be fine."

Sighing again, Misty got up and walked across the room to sit down heavily next to her. "You don't look fine."

In the ensuing silence, the other girl looked at her lap. After awhile, her lips just barely moved to let her speak in a small whisper, punctuated by a sniffle.

"It's a long story."

Misty crossed her arms. "Well, I don't have anywhere to be anytime soon."

"Well…" The girl wrung her hands. "You see… I tried to admit my love to someone, and…"

"He turned you down, didn't he?"

The girl looked at Misty with wide, startled eyes. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you _are_ crying."

She forced herself to smile. "S-sorry. It's all… it's all really silly, though. I mean, he doesn't even notice me. I was stupid to—"

"No, you weren't!"

Misty jumped to her feet. The girl looked up, startled by the sudden snap in the water trainer's attitude. Even Misty was surprised by her own sudden outburst, but she wasn't about to let a girl show weakness when it came to love. That was just blasphemy in her book.

"Look, even if he was a jerk to you and turned you down, don't think of it as a loss. Think of it as a victory!" Misty exclaimed. "You got up the courage to tell him how you feel, and that's the important part. That way, you'll know how to handle things for when the _real_ one for you comes along!"

The girl blinked as her tears suddenly stopped. "I… I guess."

Misty balled a hand into a fist and held it up. "And so what if he's a jerk anyway? Let him teach you how to handle rejection and move on! No matter what he did to you, you can survive! No matter what he called you when he talked to you! No matter how much he ignored you! Even if he was a stupid jerk who didn't realize after years of traveling with you that you had a crush on him, so he ended up waltzing off to another region with the pokémon he cares about so much and forgetting to call you once in awhile!"

At that point, the girl was leaning a little away from Misty. "Are… are we still talking about boys in general, or…?"

Ignoring her, Misty continued, "This will teach you how to fight in the war of love! The heart is a battlefield, girl! You weren't stupid! You were learning how to parry!"

"…I think you lost me."

Misty sat down next to her and exhaled. "What I mean to say is don't call yourself stupid. Every little thing you do now will help you find the person who's right for you. So what if he's a jerk? There's other, better men out there. You'll find someone else. Trust me."

Smiling, the girl rubbed her eyes with the back of an arm. "I… I think I get it. Thank you."

Seeing her expression, Misty couldn't help but smile herself. "Don't mention it, um…" Right then, she paused, realizing she didn't know the other girl's name.

"Dawn," she said. "You know… you're pretty smart. You must've done this a lot."

Misty crossed her arms and grumbled, "You could say that."

"Then, if you don't mind me asking," Dawn continued, "how do you know if you've found the one for you?"

"Well, I don't," Misty replied. "I haven't found him, either."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. I just have bad luck, I guess. Or maybe I'm not going after the right guy. I've heard things, though."

"Things?"

"Well… yeah. Like…"

Misty turned to Dawn and gently put her hands around the girl's face. Dawn shivered, feeling the cold of the trainer's skin.

"When you find the right one," Misty said, "he'll hold you gently and look into your eyes like this."

She connected her gaze with the coordinator's. Dawn blushed as she looked deep into the blue-green eyes of her companion.

"Then," Misty continued, "he'll lean in… like this."

Slowly, Misty leaned towards Dawn, nearly kissing her. Instead, she closed her eyes and said the last few words.

"And then – and this is the important part – he'll kiss you… like this."

The distance between them closed, and Misty's lips brushed Dawn's. She slipped her tongue out of her mouth, pressing against Dawn's soft lips until the girl opened just enough to let her in. Her arms slipped down, tracing the coordinator's curved shoulder and smooth torso until her hands rested on the small of her back. A warmth circled Misty's neck, and she realized that Dawn had slipped her arms around her shoulders. The girl tasted like berries, and although she seemed clumsy, as if she didn't know what to do with her tongue (which she didn't, but Misty didn't know that), it wasn't that bad of a kiss. Misty could feel her body go warm and fuzzy and her heart beat faster and…

Suddenly, the two girls pulled out of the kiss, stared at each other, and realized something very important: the very reason why their male relationships weren't working. With that, they said a single word in perfect unison.

"_Oh._"

* * *

**Ending Author's Note:**

And there you have it. The eighth and final piece to an eight-part-long holiday fic. Now, for the explanation.

You see the genre up at the top? It's parody. Now, here's the reason why, and it wasn't because most of these had twist endings. It was actually because a lot of these are riffs on popular tropes I've seen during my time writing in the Pokémon fandom. No, this is not another one of those bitter commentaries that pop up and try to embarrass writers by showing them the error of their ways or something. Granted, I laughed at those, but I'm just not that great at them. Really, the entire point to this endeavor was just to point them out and make lighthearted cracks about the things I've noticed in this fandom.

To start off, the first four chapters are centered around the concept of keeping characters, well, in-character. In the first chapter, Ash is more interested in training than romancing; Misty is the one out of character. (She's a tomboy, not a damsel-in-distress.) The second deals with the fact that Paul doesn't actually care about Dawn (to the point where he doesn't make an effort to learn her name) and that romance based on the concept that opposites attract or that the more you hate someone, the more you secretly love them don't necessarily work out that way. The third features the fact that May is just an Ash with a chest, and finally, the fourth tries to explain that if Jessie and James were actually in-character, James would only be wearing the pants in the relationship in a literal sense (and sometimes not even then).

After that, I start to deviate from character rants. The fifth chapter deals with cliché plots, namely high school fics and the idea of romance always persevering… or something. The sixth establishes that there's other holidays besides Christmas. Also, that Hanukkah is a legitimately awesome holiday. (I mean, really, when else can you gamble as a holiday past-time?) The seventh deals with cliché chosen-one fics while explicitly riffing on some of the more popular trends in Pokémon fanfiction, and finally, the eighth deals with unconventional loving because, really, I personally believe there's absolutely nothing wrong with love in all its forms. So long as, you know, you're not out there bonking children or the family dog, you know what I'm saying? But that's just me, and I'm aware it doesn't float everyone's boat.

But the short of it is this. If you laughed for whatever reason, awesome. If you got the warm and fuzzies from some of the parts that were actually warm and fuzzy (like the above scene), then that's cool too.

However, if you're looking for a moral to the story, all I'm saying is you don't have to take a character out of character to write a good romance fic. You also don't have to reuse the same plots just because they're popular or stick to the same setting just because it's Christmas. (You could if you wanted to, sure, but the whole point of this is an off-handed comment, not a guide to the do's and don'ts of fanfic.) And most importantly, don't close your mind to other ways of looking at love until after you've looked at all the perspectives and said, "I respect you, but it's just not for me."

With all that said (and sorry to be preachy), I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wish you all a happy belated winter holiday of your choosing.


End file.
